Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy Reviews
As the final instalment in the series' prequel trilogy, 'Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy' provides a puzzling experience that fans of the series will find familiar.
Elementary.
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy brings a great series to a close in fine style. It doesn't take many risks with the established formula, but its story is engaging, intelligently written and compelling to the end.
Azran Legacy doesn’t change much about the Layton formula, but the series stays true to its strengths to the very end.
Layton is all about puzzles and story. The former stays true to the formula, and the latter is entertaining, even if some reveals are cringe-worthy
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy has some neat puzzles and some great new minigames, but fails to step outside its comfort zone.
A mix of mostly-new puzzles, an engaging, globe-spanning story, characters worth caring about and a welcome change to the series' formula. It's the opposite of a lazy sequel.
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy doesn’t stray too far from the formula, but that’s a good thing for the most part.
If Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy really is the end of an era, it's a fitting sign-off. Hershel Layton and his companions have been wonderful additions to the DS and 3DS systems, bringing gracious simplicity and charm with each release. This concluding entry captures the best of the new and old, and is indispensable to fans of the franchise. Farewell Professor, you truly have been a gentleman and a scholar.
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy is an amazing conclusion to the beloved puzzle series. Its variety and clever storytelling make it the most interesting and well-executed installment of the franchise, and it’s nice to see that after six games, Level-5 can keep surprising players with intriguing, surprisingly moving plots and hundreds of clever puzzles. I’m sorry to see the main series end, but if it must, this is exactly how to do it.
On the flipside, for those that are completists, who want to eke every drop out of their Layton, there is a staggering amount of depth here, not just from the multiple puzzles,but from the way all of the mini-games are directly tied into the main adventure, and the Treasure Hunt mode can actually provide a beneficial reason to keep your idling 3DS in your pocket, lest you have a cheeky StreetPass encounter that will unlock a juicy reward. The 3DS has certainly come of age this year, and this is another sterling effort that combines expert design with frankly gorgeous looks and sounds.
While the power of the 3DS can occasionally be seen working to bring about the delightful art styles and adding some lovely depth to the animations, this is essentially the same substance as every Layton game so far. That is by no means a bad thing. The puzzles offer plenty of variety and there is a lot of content to get you started, even without venturing into the mini-games and the daily puzzle downloads.
Azran Legacy comes full circle, with this trilogy leading neatly into the other. It feels like this is meant to be a stopping point for the series, at least in this exact format. The series of short stories served as a reminder of my affection for these characters, and the puzzles ran the gamut from tried-and-true to truly clever. This is a fine send-off, and if that's what Level-5 intends, it will be a perfectly timed one. As Layton would inform Luke, a proper gentleman knows not to overstay his welcome.
Not the best entry in the series, but it does have some of the best puzzles. As well as a bombastic, if slightly confused, story that will leave both new and old fans wanting more.
If you’re already a fan of the series, or if any of this niche game sounds appealing to you, I urge you to give Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy a try. Certainly, those who played the previous two (or five) games will want to know how the trilogy ends. For the others who are not into super English puzzle games or are barely into that section of the newspaper, there are more creatively-engaging games on the market. However, consider putting the gun down now and again. Puzzles can bring great peace, but puzzles also inspire unnerving chaos.
What it does to differentiate itself from previous entries in the series is mostly superficial, but Layton fans and puzzle lovers do not really need or want a great departure for the series. All we want is a puzzle-solving adventure, and Azran Legacy delivers a good one.
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy is bursting with conundrums, but the series' puzzling allure is beginning to wane.
In Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy, the puzzles are solid, enjoyable and very varied with only a few repeat patterns, even if some are a little more mathsy than my brain would like. The narrative has mystery and whimsy aplenty, there's lots of small twists, cute animations behind which collectibles hide, and there are cameos to please the long-running fans. The world comes off more sprawling, with more choice and more ability to explore environments with your trusty stylus.
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy, is a great, even perspective changing game that showed me that games don’t need endless action to be fun.
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy doesn’t take the series in any new directions, but that’s not a bad thing. With more environmental variety and a faster moving story, the game addresses the main complaints I had with Miracle Mask. The puzzle variety is excellent, and I enjoyed the mini-games more than the last few games. With a full year of puzzles on top of what’s already in the game, puzzle enthusiasts will find a lot of enjoyment here.